Opinion

Pirates, smugglers and territorial claims have fed a cauldron of instability in the waters around Asia . . .

MALAYSIANS at large feel a heightened sense of insec-urity because of the rise in Islamic fundamentalism and some of the actions of their Government . . .

LINGERING malaise in South Korea is beginning to remind observers of Japan in the early 1990s as that country embarked on two decades of stagnation . . .

CHINA’s Silk Roads concept offers sackcloth and ashes to those not toeing the Chinese line (witness Japan and the Philippines). These land and sea roads are all about restoring China’s greatness and superiority . . .

THE much-touted Free Trade Agreement between China and South Korea is not all it seems – but it serves other purposes for both countries . . .

DOES Taiwan want a complete break from China – regardless of the price? The people may decide in 2016 . . .

LOWER oil prices could be a passing phenomenon. As more energy projects are stalled or mothballed, what price will future consumers be asked to pay? 

THE China initiative for a Free Trade Zone for Asia-Pacific reinvents the APEC Bogor Declaration of 20 years ago – and that went simply nowhere . . .

ASIA is about to embrace a series of painful reforms which will bring uncertainty and change. Asia’s world has changed . . .

MUCH of the geo-political risk existing today stems from strong political leadership – or the lack of it . . .